Thank you everyone for the helpful information! I called FSA using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and actually got through to a real person in about 10 minutes. They confirmed that adoption subsidies are NOT reported as income on the FAFSA. They're classified as means-tested benefits which are excluded from the SAI calculation. They also explained that this is different from the Adoption Tax Credit (which does impact my AGI on taxes but is already factored into the tax return numbers I'll use for FAFSA). What a relief to have this clarified! Now I can finish up our application with confidence.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with my adopted daughter and have been stressed about the FAFSA for months. It's reassuring to see that multiple people have confirmed adoption subsidies don't count as income. The fact that you got official confirmation from FSA makes me feel much more confident about leaving those payments off our form. Thanks for sharing your experience and the resolution!

As someone who just went through this process with my twins (yes, double the FAFSA fun!), I can confirm what others have said - you absolutely need to report ALL parent-owned 529 accounts regardless of beneficiary. I initially made the same mistake and only reported the accounts for each respective child, but had to go back and correct both applications. The key thing that helped me understand this: the FAFSA views ALL parent assets as potentially available to support ANY of your children's education costs. So even though you mentally earmark specific 529s for specific kids, legally the parent owns all of them and could theoretically use any of the funds for any child's education. One tip that saved me time: if you're unsure about ANY aspect of asset reporting, it's worth getting it right the first time rather than dealing with verification later. The verification process can seriously delay aid disbursement, and colleges won't hold your spot in line while you sort things out.

I'm actually going through this exact same situation right now with my daughter's FAFSA! After reading through all these responses, I feel much more confident about reporting ALL our 529 accounts. We have three kids too, and I was initially leaning toward only reporting my oldest daughter's account. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - I called our 529 plan provider (Vanguard) to get the exact account values as of the FAFSA filing date, and they were super helpful in explaining how to calculate the current net worth. They also confirmed that as the account owner, I need to report all accounts regardless of beneficiary. Thanks everyone for the detailed explanations, especially about the difference between FAFSA and CSS Profile rules. This community has been a lifesaver for navigating this confusing process!

Ethan, congratulations on this amazing breakthrough! As someone new to this community, your story is both heartbreaking and inspiring - heartbreaking that you had to endure decades of watching your balance grow despite faithful payments, but inspiring that the system is finally working to correct these injustices. Your experience as an educator paying back $28k multiple times over while still owing nearly $300k really demonstrates why these recent policy changes were so crucial. It sounds like you likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that others have mentioned - the Department of Education has been automatically reviewing long-term borrowers' accounts and giving credit for payments that should have counted toward forgiveness all along. At 67, after 30+ years of public service, you absolutely deserve this relief. I can't imagine the emotional weight that's been lifted from your shoulders. Your story gives so much hope to other educators and public servants in similar situations. I'd definitely echo what others have said about documenting everything thoroughly - screenshots, downloaded letters, call records. After decades of servicer transfers and record-keeping issues, having that paper trail will give you complete peace of mind. Thank you for sharing your experience with the community. Stories like yours help newcomers like me understand both how broken the old system was and how much better things are becoming for borrowers who've been fighting these battles for years. Enjoy your well-deserved freedom from this burden!

Ethan, this is absolutely incredible and such wonderful news! As someone new to this community, your story really highlights both the struggles of the old student loan system and the hope that recent policy changes are bringing to borrowers who've been trapped for decades. The fact that you faithfully made payments for over 25 years as an educator, paid back your original $28k multiple times over, and still owed nearly $300k shows just how broken the compound interest system was for long-term borrowers. What you experienced was unfortunately far too common for borrowers from that era. From what I'm learning in this community, it sounds like you likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that's been automatically applied to eligible long-term borrowers. The Department of Education has been conducting massive reviews of payment histories and finally giving credit for all those years that should have counted toward forgiveness but didn't due to servicer errors and administrative issues. At 67, after three decades of public service as an educator, you absolutely deserve this relief. I can only imagine the incredible weight that's been lifted from your shoulders. Your story gives so much hope to other educators and public servants still fighting these battles. I'd definitely follow the advice others have shared about documenting everything thoroughly - take screenshots, download all official letters, and keep records of your calls with servicers. After dealing with multiple servicer transfers over the years, having that comprehensive paper trail will give you complete peace of mind. Thank you for sharing your experience with this community. Stories like yours help newcomers understand how much progress has been made in fixing this broken system. Enjoy your well-deserved freedom from this financial burden!

I'm new to this whole process and reading through everyone's experiences is both helpful and nerve-wracking! I just submitted my FAFSA last week and I'm already anxious about what comes next. It sounds like even after getting the SAI, there's still so much waiting involved. For those who have been through this before, is there anything you wish you had done differently during the waiting period? Also, should I be doing anything proactive right now while my FAFSA is still processing, or is it really just a waiting game at this point?

One thing that really helped me when I was in your exact situation was to reach out to the financial aid office via their online chat feature if they have one - many schools have added these during busy seasons and the wait times are usually much shorter than phone calls. Also, don't stress too much about the "processed" status vs actual awards - I remember panicking about the same thing, but schools often batch process award letters, so yours might all come through around the same time in the next couple weeks. In the meantime, if you're really worried about the tuition deadline, most schools have an option to request a payment plan or temporary deferral while financial aid is pending - definitely worth asking about! The whole system is overwhelming but you're doing everything right by staying on top of it.

Wow, this thread is so helpful! I'm dealing with a similar issue right now where my FAFSA isn't showing up for my dad to sign, but my sister's went through fine. Based on all the suggestions here, I'm going to have him check for multiple FSA IDs first since that seems to be the most common cause. It's crazy how many technical issues the new FAFSA system has - you'd think something this important would be more thoroughly tested before rollout. Thanks for sharing your solution @Luca Russo, and congrats on getting it resolved! Definitely bookmarking this thread in case we need to call FSA with that bug number.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm currently going through the exact same issue with my twin brother - his FAFSA shows up for our mom to sign but mine doesn't. After reading all these responses, I'm now wondering if we might have the multiple FSA ID problem too. Our mom did change her email address a few months ago, so she might have inadvertently created a second account. I'm going to have her check tonight before we try calling FSA. It's really reassuring to know this is a known bug (#2024-113) and not just us doing something wrong. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's amazing how this community helps each other navigate these frustrating technical issues!